


healing hands

by petalshowers



Series: cabbage tales [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Flirting, M/M, Yukhei being his usual human disaster self, lapslock, minor injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-25 21:19:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13843248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petalshowers/pseuds/petalshowers
Summary: "are you usually this playful with everyone?" dongyoung asks, carefully.jungwoo laughs, continuing to focus the glowing water over dongyoung’s leg. his laugh is sweet."maybe if they're as good-looking as you."/dongyoung sprains his ankle, but jungwoo is there to patch him up.





	healing hands

**Author's Note:**

> this is extremely self-indulgent and filled with poor attempts at jokes and flirting. (also rated just for language)

this wouldn't have happened had yukhei not dropped his ass off that hill. or maybe it's dongyoung's fault for caving into the sheer ridiculousness of his younger friend's antics.

 

_"hey, bet! i can make that hill over there bigger." yukhei points towards the hills in the distance, confident and already astounded at his own skill even though he hasn't moved a muscle, let alone the earth._

 

_dongyoung usually wouldn't entertain his absurd outbursts but there's something about the innocent child-like twinkle in yukhei's eyes that makes not listening to him impossible. and dongyoung does have a soft spot for the younger kids in their chaotic family. so he sighs, giving him the attention he wants without much of a fight and looks over to the large standing hill protruding some yards to the left of them._

 

_"that hill over there? are you sure? you barely know how to fling rocks without hurting someone." in some alternate universe where yukhei isn't....well yukhei he would pause for a minute, come to the same realization, and laugh it off. but in this current universe yukhei must give into every impulsive urge that comes to him; and he stands up with a determined huff, cracks his knuckles, flashes dongyoung a cheeky smile, then makes his way to said hill, magnifying the baby headache already present within dongyoung's skull. and dongyoung being dongyoung, he follows behind._

 

_by the time dongyoung catches up yukhei is already finishing his stretches, now cracking his knuckles again and positioning himself to bend, as he'd been taught._

 

 _"if you hurt yourself just know i told you so."_ _yukhei's grin is the last thing he sees before he's hurtled 20 feet into the air. and it all happens so fast, him landing onto the hard ground with a loud thud, feeling a surge of pain at his foot, passing out seconds afterwards._

 

_when he comes to dongyoung realizes he's ended up back where they started. oh, and his fucking ankle is twisted._

 

_"dongyounggggg! are you okay???" speak of the devil. yukhei is sprinting up to him absolutely distraught and he immediately goes down to level with him, letting out a yell when he notices doyoung's half twisted pretzel ankle. "oh my god, is it broken?" yukhei covers his face with his hands hiding the horror and shame on his face, but not so much in his cracked voice._

 

_"i don't think it's broken since i can still kind of move it, but it's definitely sprained." dongyoung tries to lift himself up, or at least try to but he's too sore to stay up for long and he plops down on his back again. note to self: the universe will punish the responsible adult for letting the obviously reckless kid do as they please. exhausted, he drapes an aching arm over his eyes listening to yukhei's tearful and constant 'i'm so so so sorry's._

 -

_"please tell me you didn't kill him." yuta stops mid-walk to ask yukhei , who frantically shakes his head. "ok good because i have no idea where we would've hid his body."_

 

_"i can hear you, asshole." dongyoung lifts his head from yukhei's unrealistically broad shoulder and glares at yuta, coughing out a reply, "he just sprained my ankle and bruised several parts of my body."_

 

_"oh, that's why he's carrying you. and here i thought you were opposed to any kind of affection." sometimes yuta knows just how to get under his skin even when what he's saying has no base for it whatsoever._

 

_as if sensing the daggers dongyoung is sending towards yuta, kun and sicheng poke their heads out from the tent, taking in his injured body._

 

_"yukhei, what did you do?" kun, the sensible one, wastes no time asking questions that have obvious answers like 'who did this?' he's already made his way to them and trying to inspect dongyoung's body, a little too closely, taking in all his injuries._

 

_yukhei gulps before answering the question, "i..uh...thought i could move a hill and ended up catapulting into the air." there's a hesitant pause and a glance to kun, who's nodding his head with each word, then he finishes up his explanation, "and then he sprained his ankle when he landed on the ground."_

 

_"i can attest to that happening before i passed out from the pain." despite his painful situation dongyoung can still manage to chuckle at his own (not actual) jokes._

 

_without ever saying anything kun tugs at yukhei's sleeve, while also gesturing to both yuta and sicheng, leading them all towards where naru, yuta's long time dragon companion, is sleeping. naru lifts her head and takes in the sight of the four of them gathered before her resting spot. she looks directly at yuta tilting her head as if to ask 'what do you guys want?' and, of course, yuta understands their silent means of communication._

 

_"naru wants to know why we're all staring at her." he asks kun while stroking the spot between naru's eyes, her favorite spot._

 

_"oh. i forgot to say that i conveniently met someone who knows how to heal back in the town we just passed."_

 

and that's how he ended up here at the door of some stranger's home, using yuta's shoulder to keep himself up and kun's smaller frame to keep to his balance, on the verge of passing out again because his body aches. somehow they managed to ride naru to town but at the expense of squishing him between the two of them as a safety measure. he feels a squeeze at his hip and glances over to see yuta's hand tightening its grip, putting more effort into keeping him up, and dongyoung tries to acknowledge his concern with a nudge.

 

"don't pass out yet, okay?" it's always astonishing how yuta can manage to sound both concerned and unaffected at the same time, but dongyoung still appreciates the sentiment.

 

before he can reply with some barely witty retort someone pushes aside the curtain and greets them with a smile. "hopefully i can prevent any passing out." says the boy standing in the doorway, gesturing for them to come in. and dongyoung is sure he'll actually pass out now because his voice is so soft and comforting and wow...that smile really is inviting.

 

unfortunately, his legs end up buckling when they do try to go inside, and it takes the strength of kun, yuta, and this unfamiliar water bender to drag him to the single bed in the corner of the room. when they finally set him up on the bed, like the designated parental figure he has self appointed to himself, kun points at dongyoung and explains why they - well just dongyoung - are here.

 

jungwoo, whose named he picked up amidst their conversation, chuckles into the sleeve of his shirt while kun retells the story and dongyoung sits there feeling like some child who hurt themselves while learning to properly bend for the first time.

 

"you know i can talk for myself, right?" he mumbles under his breath but still loud enough that kun can hear, which warrants him an eye-roll.

 

"fine. we'll leave you here and go browse the marketplace again." both of his friends are up and out within a few minutes, waving goodbye and leaving him to his own demise with jungwoo.

 

and now said healer is already making his way back to dongyoung, rolling up his sleeves and brushing back his bangs. dongyoung mentally wails in distress because he shouldn't have sassed his friends away. he can't be here alone with....him.

 

"i haven't properly introduced myself but i'm jungwoo." he extends his hand and on instinct dongyoung shakes it while he continues talking, "i'm from the north pole where i was trained to heal. and i guess you can say i run a little clinic here." there's something about the softness of jungwoo's speaking voice that eases the tension in his muscles.

 

"i'm dongyoung. i'm from some obscure town in the fire kingdom and, as you can see, i have a tendency of falling victim to my friends' antics." the genuine eye contact shouldn't bother him because it's only proper conversation etiquette but jungwoo looks at him as if he's telling the most interesting story ever and maybe dongyoung is just a little bashful around strangers like him. cute, sweet strangers with pretty hands, that is.

 

"that was a pretty wild way to sprain your ankle, huh?" jungwoo is leaning against the bed, arms crossed across his chest looking at him with a painfully pretty face.

 

"yeah, but i bet you've heard more wild and funnier backstories." he says that, but somewhere deep down in the crevices of his (not so) secretly competitive heart is an oh so small wish that his is the most memorable. if he's going to almost die at the feet of yukhei he better go out with a bang, or rather a thud.

 

jungwoo is motioning for him to lay on his back, helping him extend his leg so he can start the examining process. at first, dongyoung is sure his question will go unanswered, and internally winces at his now bruised ego, until he hears a small cough, "i'd say...it's the most entertaining story so far." jungwoo smiles while rolling up his dirty pants leg as carefully and gently as possible, his hands barely grazing the skin of his leg but still managing to elicit a shiver from dongyoung. dongyoung smiles back because he's glad to know he'll be remembered fondly.

 

"there's a lot of bruising and swelling in the surrounding areas...are you sure you're okay?" he can see the worried furrow of jungwoo's brow and the way he's chewing on his lip, genuinely concerned.

 

"i'm okay, just feeling really sore. but you're the guy that's supposed to make me feel better."

 

if he wasn't already staring he would've missed the way the prettiest pale pink colors jungwoo's cheeks and the hesitation before he turns to ready the water. it isn't until he replays his own sentence that he realizes how it could've been taken a _different_ way. and oh god dongyoung is not that bold or unashamed to hit on him like that. and at this rate why not click his tongue, give a quick wink, and say 'let's get out of here and find the nearest cave and do what rabbits do.' instead dongyoung lays there in petrified silence calculating if this sprained ankle can somehow kill him.

 

when jungwoo finally turns around he lifts his hands and out from a decorative vase comes water that he meticulously bends to wrap around dongyoung's calf, keeping his hands still as he walks back to his side still in complete focus. within seconds the water begins to glow and slowly the swelling lessens. dongyoung takes a deep breath and relaxes while jungwoo heals him.

 

though the silence, and his peace of mind, doesn't last long when jungwoo casually speaks, "you know...i have heard once or twice that i do make people feel good."

 

dongyoung's knee jerk reaction is to sit up abruptly, face flushed and blinking at jungwoo who's trying hard not to slip into a laughing fit. "oh my god, i really didn't mean it that way." he says in a panic.

 

"i know! i just couldn't pass up the opportunity to make the joke."

 

in an attempt to save himself dongyoung huffs and settles back down, trying to make a face that passes as unimpressed but ends up as more of a pout; watching as jungwoo bites down on his lip again, this time to suppress his laughs.

 

"so are you usually this playful with everyone?" he asks, carefully.

 

jungwoo laughs again, this time soft and embarrassed, continuing to focus the glowing water over dongyoung's leg. his laugh is sweet. "maybe if they're as good-looking as you."

 

there's no denying jungwoo is obviously flirting with him now, trying to mask his intentions with an innocent smile plastered on his face. but dongyoung can make out a familiar mischievous glint that he's seen in the eyes of none other than the fiery yuta. so at this point in time he has nothing else to lose, why not play along?

 

"you're not that bad looking yourself. and i guess you're good with your hands too."

 

they both look at each other and immediately crack up, filling the room with their hearty laughs and snorts. and from there they talk easy maybe with jungwoo sitting closer than necessary to dongyoung as he fixes his ankle. but it's not like he minds much.

-

finally dongyoung can walk on his own again. and jungwoo is walking next to him as they make their way to the door, brushing their knuckles together while they walk. yuta and kun are waiting outside for him holding more bags of supplies. he doesn't miss the immediate arch of yuta's eyebrow when he sees them. and dongyoung turns to jungwoo and nods his head goodbye, lingering a little before walking towards his friends.

 

"make sure you come back for a check up, okay?" jungwoo is extremely obvious with his wink and grin which makes dongyoung's leg buckle again against his will but this time kun is fast to stomp and have the ground extend up to catch him. using his sleeve to hide his snickers jungwoo waves and heads back inside, fleeing the scene of the disaster he caused.

 

dongyoung doesn't hear the end of it from yuta on the way back.

**Author's Note:**

> wow this is my first nct fic after almost 2 years...... this was supposed to be a drabble but ended up evolving into a ficlet. i'm trying to get back into the swing of writing so i apologize if this is just awful flidfj. anyways, if you want to discuss atla headcanons let's [goooo](https://twitter.com/faetens)
> 
> thank you for any kudos/comments and hopefully you guys like this.


End file.
